1. In spite of what you see in those picture you can keep your same side hand up by your face and you should. A lot of Thai fighters/kickboxer feel compelled to throw back their same side arm (if kicking with right leg, throwing back right arm) for balance and some even think this adds a little extra oomf,

A lot of Thai fighters including the trainers at Fairtex and Master K's. I think that this is going to be an "agree to disagree" thing - you're going to have to come up with something exceptional for me to take your word over theirs.

It's just basic newtonian physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you throw your arm out in the opposite direction of the kick, it's going to create that much additional power in the kick. It's a tradeoff of power for vulnerability. Once the kick is landed you want to push yourself back off your lead foot in order to withdrawl to a safer distance, or prepare to eat cross.

A lot of Thai fighters including the trainers at Fairtex and Master K's. I think that this is going to be an "agree to disagree" thing - you're going to have to come up with something exceptional for me to take your word over theirs.

I am half blind, I cannot afford to make that opening, so I don't. I notice no differance in the strength of my kicks that is worth getting punched in the face for.

Why am I posting this on Christmas morning? My family needs to wake up so we can get to the presents.

To throw, the kick is NOT "chambered" (Chamber refers to the act of bringing the kicking leg's knee up, parallel to the ground, before delivery), but rather thrown from the floor with minimal elevation (relative to the target, of course).

Can someone training Thai boxing go over this bit? Is the kick thrown with a straight (or close to straight) leg, like a bat/club coming up from the ground?

I've been taught to bring the leg up bent, like you're going to do a circular knee, then extend the leg as the hips roll over. Kind of like what this guy (from the original post) is doing. Whats the common consensus of throwing this kick? I'm just confused by the explanation above.

Can someone training Thai boxing go over this bit? Is the kick thrown with a straight (or close to straight) leg, like a bat/club coming up from the ground?

I've been taught to bring the leg up bent, like you're going to do a circular knee, then extend the leg as the hips roll over. Kind of like what this guy (from the original post) is doing. Whats the common consensus of throwing this kick? I'm just confused by the explanation above.

Think of the MT roundhouse as a whipping kick. The way you are doing it (with bent knee) is the preffered style for mid and high level kicks. The "straight leg" kick is mainly used for low/leg kicks.

In the above pic , the leg is bent at that angle because the target is very close and a more extended leg would result in a less effective kick. In general, the
kicking leg is always bent at least a little, as locking it straight can hurt the knee on impact.

Also Dancer is correct about hand/arm swing not being necessary, but the vast majority of MT fighters do the arm swing for the extra power it provides.

At the risk of being called the Spirit of Aesopian Future, why the hell are all you guys creating a "How Do" thread on the Muay Thai round house kick, when Feedback is the only one here that actually trains Muay Thai. Why not just call it a Round House Kick thread?

For instance, the Muay Thai shin guards are suppose to be worn by the blocker, not the kicker. Your first post had that all backwards.

In post #5, Canuckyokushin posted a karate picture with the caption "Just for refences.This is also the Thai roundhouse." WTF??? So why exactly is this a Muay Thai round house kick? What makes it Muay Thai, and not a karate round house kick? How can I tell from this one picture? The location of the supporting foot looks all wrong to me. You may be correct, but you're also not offering any supporting information.

And Fatherdog, Dancer is correct, and simply telling him that you're not going to believe him because you've seen other people do it differently, other people that you have more respect for, is a lousy way to tell someone they're wrong. If you think he's wrong, tell him why, tell him where you his technique is incorrect, don't just say you don't believe him because you've seen it done differently.

There no school of thought on this really.If you can reach that high than good for you.Most peolpe I train with aren't that flexible.So if you can reach it all depends how you are being tought and who is teaching.

I'm rather flexible in that I don't believe I have to twist my body so much to the side as you see in my picture.

In my school we are thought to always keep our guards up.But look at this picture here.
The fighter is cleary not twisting his body and is keeping his guards up to protect himself.

Also look at his right foot.Its too is not twisted back because this guy is very flexible in the front.

Maybe Muay-Thai fighters are thought to twist their bodies to get that extra inch of reach.

At the risk of being called the Spirit of Aesopian Future, why the hell are all you guys creating a "How Do" thread on the Muay Thai round house kick, when Feedback is the only one here that actually trains Muay Thai. Why not just call it a Round House Kick thread?

I think Satori initially made it clear he was a noob at this which is why he is asking for feedback from people in the know. Why a non-MT guy started this thread I can't say but if enough people contribute so that it is workable I suppose there isn't a problem.

BTW, I take offense to the statement that only Feedback does MT. What am I, a dancing ninja?

:ninjadanc

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:icon_twis .
To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence;
Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without spilling your Guinness.Sun "Fu Man JhooJits" Tzu, the Art of War & Guinness

Thai boxers do typically drop one of their hands when executing a roundhouse kick. The reason, as you surmised is for both leverage and added power.

Though you were referring only to the lead side roundhouse kick, and the dropping of the lead hand, the same is true for the rear legged roundhouse kick.

For one, roundhouse kicks from the lead leg are naturally weaker b/c they do not benefit anywhere near as much from the body's rotation during the kick. When the lead hand "drops" it does not actually just drop, but is swung.

The swing is to:

#1-generate additional power while pivoting and

#2-help the boxer maintain his/her balance.

A third and not well known reason (unless you study Muay Thai) is that the swing arm can be used to interfere with your opponent. You are sticking it in his face and brushing either his punches or guard aside as you kick.

Further, the arm may drop, but the shoulder does NOT! When a Thai boxer kicks, he is leaning away from the kicking leg. Doing this adds more of the body's weight to the force of the kick AND gets the boxers head OUT OF THE WAY of a counterstrike.

Also, ONLY ONE arm drops! The other should come up in front of the face in a high guard position that places the elbow near jaw level and the hand practically above the head. This creates a more solid barrier. The shoulder of the arm that is dropped protects the jaw on the other side.

The above hold true for roundhouse kicking techniques from both sides. Let me know if what I wrote above does not make complete sense, and I will try to clarify it better.